The present invention generally pertains to a surgical wire inserter adapted to insert a circular prosthetic device into or through bones to provide support and fixation while the bone structure is mending or to provide anchorage for traction but more particularly pertains to a rotary wire inserting device utilizing a surgical wire.
In the prior art a prosthetic wire device usually circular in cross section is generally inserted into the bone by means of a pre-drilled hole or more commonly by driving the wire with a suitable drill chuck and letting the wire bore its own hole by means of a spade or trocar tip. A trocar point is the point most commonly used on such wires. One such device which has been used to insert wires is a device called a Loth-Kirschner extension drill. The drill is hand operated with the drill bit being rotated by suitable gearing which is turned by a handle much like that of a fishing reel.
Another device which has been used is a pneumatic wire driver manufactured by the Stryker Corporation. This device is a hand held device with a trigger. An air supply, which is connected to the device by way of a hose, passes through the handle of the gun causing the wire to rotate so that it obtains a sufficient torque to be driven into the bone.
Generally speaking the prosthetic wires which are used in both of these instruments and wires which are used in the operating room are circular in cross-section ranging from 0.028 to 0.062 inches in diameter and are primarily provided with a ground spade point or a trocar point.
Because of the circular cross section and small diameter of these wires they are difficult to hold in a collet tightly enough to prevent slipping during installation.